"All-right class, remember your exam tomorrow

"All-right class, remember your exam tomorrow. Study the last three chapters we've gone over." The bell rang and Pony gathered his books and headed to his locker. His stomach growled but lunch wasn't for another hour. He should've eaten the eggs Darry cooked that morning but he hadn't been hungry then.

"Hey you're that kid with the crazy name huh?" An older boy asked smirking at him. Pony turned to glare at him, still walking. Suddenly something slammed into him hard and he fell onto the ground. Groaning, he looked up to see a boy next to him, obviously the offender. He looked about his age, maybe a little older. Pony recognized him from several of his classes. His golden hair fell in his face. The boy shoved it away and looked at Ponyboy wide eyed.

"S-sorry." He said. "I uh, I wasn't lookin'. I got a habit of bumping into things."

Pony moved his foot when he felt something under his shoe. "This yours?" Pony asked, picking up a slingshot by his foot. The boy grabbed it quickly and shoved it in the pocket of his overalls, looking around to see if anyone else saw it.

He looked at Pony eyes wide again. "Don't tell nobody, please?" He begged.

Pony looked at him funny. "I ain't no snitch." He said. Both boys realized they were sitting in the middle of the hallway. The boy was up first and he gave Pony a hand up.

"Thanks." Pony mumbled.

"Damn Johnson, you run into everything." The other kid sneered. That same kid that made a crack about his name still stood there.

"Shut-up, Michael. Nobody asked you." The slingshot kid shot back.

"Boys, hurry up and get to class." A teacher said walking by them. "Michael, senior year you know better by now." She looked pointedly at the older boy and he hurried along, pointing a menacing finger back towards the other boy who stuck his tongue out.

"I uh- I'm Nicky. The boy held out his hand once Michael had disappeared."

"Ponyboy." Pony shook his hand. "What you in such a hurry for? You hit me at darn near fifty miles an hour."

"I was running after Michael. He's stupid." Nicky growled out. "He stole all my stones."

"You're stones?" Pony looked at him funny. What in the world was this kid talking about he stole his stones?

"Yeah, you can't just use any old rock in a sling shot." Nicky said matter of factly, a very serious expression on his face. It's gotta be the right size and its gotta be real smooth. I found some good ones at the crick and that idiot took um from my pocket."

"What for?"

"Jus' cause he likes buggin' me." He sighed, reaching in his pocket to feel for the slingshot. He grinned then. "And because I took a shot at him the s'morning. He won't tell though, I've got to many things that I could tell about him." He looked Pony up and down for a moment. "You're one of the new kids from the city aint ya?"

Pony shook his head in semi annoyance and partial amazement. "Seems like the whole world knows I ain't from here."

"All of this town does." Nicky nodded his head in agreement. "What'd you say your name was?" Nicky studied him hard with his eyes. "Pony somethin'?

"Ponyboy."

"Where'd you get that nickname?"

"It ain't a nickname." Pony said defensively.

"Oh okay." Nicky stepped back a little at the look on Pony's face. "You jus' like horses or something?"

"Or something."

"Whatever." Nicky shrugged. "You live just down the road from me. Did you like the brownies we dropped by? Gavin baked them."

"You brought the brownies? Who's Gavin?" Pony asked confused. "You live just down the road?" He still felt dazed from being knocked over.

"Yup a couple miles down, not so far. Did you like um?" He asked again, eagerly.

"Oh yeah… my brother Soda ate most of um."

Nicky looked at him like he was crazy but smiled. "Everybody in the city have names like Ponyboy and Soda?" He asked.

Pony had to grin a bit. "No just us."

"Boys! You're both over five minutes late." A man called from down the hallway. "Nicholas that's the third time this week. If it happens again I'm going to call home."

Nicky's eyes widened. "We're going Mr. Pearson." He called. They hurried down the hallway.

"You have biology right now too?" Pony asked.

"Yeah." Nicky followed close behind him. The whole classroom turned to look at them as they walked in.

"Class starts at eleven boys." The teacher said sternly.

"Sorry Mr. Lock. I was just-"

"Nicky, I've heard it for the last three days now." The teacher stopped him.
"Ponyboy you'll do well not to follow Mr. Johnson to class from now on." The class laughed and Nicky stared at his shoes. Pony's ears turned red. "Find your seats. Since you're both late and we've already picked out partners for your group project the two of you can partner with each other." The boys smiled at each other. "Class open your books to page 245."

"How was school?" Darry walked through the front door that evening, mail in his hand and flopped down onto the kitchen chair.

"Over." Soda said happily.

"I met our neighbor." Pony said.

Darry looked up. "Yeah? Someone in your class?" He wondered. He'd hoped Pony would make a friend soon. Hopefully someone he wouldn't be finding trouble with.

"Yeah, his names Nicky. We're partners for our science project. Can he come over to work on it next week Darry?"

"Sure he can." Darry nodded.

"I like him already if he's the one that brought all those brownies over." Soda said. Pony had already told Soda the full story on the way home from school.

"That was him huh? It's a wonder you didn't die from all that sugar." Darry mumbled.

"Shoot, I'd die without all that sugar." Soda quipped.

"Where's your homework?" Darry asked.

Soda sighed. "I need help. I tried it Darry I can't figure it."

"Bring it out and I'll help you. Pony are you through?"

"Yeah."

"I was workin' on it before you got home, Dar. I need a break." Soda whined. It was the truth, he had been working on it before Darry got home. He just couldn't help thinking about being over and done with it.

Darry gave him a look. He wanted him to finish it but he knew Soda couldn't sit down and do it if he was restless. "Did you get any of it done?" He said.

"Yeah, some." Soda said, truthfully. This whole thing with school had him missing home even more. And Steve, and Two-Bit and the DX and all of Tulsa. That horse helped to make it worth the trouble though. He couldn't wait until the weekend. He was gonna just ride him the whole day through. "Please Dar? I'm gonna loose my mind if I have to start again right now."

It wasn't even a question. Soda's eyes bore into him with that look that made it so difficult to ever tell him no. "Fine, until after supper then you set down to finish." Darry consented, looking away, afraid if he didn't he'd hand his little brother everything he wanted on a silver platter. Soda bolted out the front door so fast they barely saw him go.

Pony looked at his eldest brother and smiled and Darry shook his head in amusement. "Tell me about this kid Nicky."

"He's in most of my classes and-"

"DARRY!" Soda screamed bloody murder from outside. Both brothers looked at each other and than ran out the front door.

"What is the matter with you?!" Darry demanded angry when he found his brother perfectly fine. "Why are you screamin' like that?"

"Darry, he's gone." Soda said desperately. "I put him out here when I got home from school and he aint here and he aint in the stable."

Please review, I like it so very much when you do